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Swift to open KYC Registry to corporates

Interbank messaging network Swift is to open its KYC Registry to corporates, providing a central hub for document exchange with multiple banking partners and eliminating duplication and ineffeciency.

In a first step, from Q4 2019, all 2,000 Swift-connected corporate groups will be able to join The KYC Registry, and use it to upload, maintain and share their KYC information with their banks.

Major corporations use a range of banks in different jurisdictions around the world, with whom they need to exchange information to enable KYC checks. Data is held in different places and is often incomplete or out of date, making the process time consuming for both corporates and their banks.

John Colleemallay, senior director group treasury & financing at Dassault Systèmes, describes the initiative as "a dream come true for all treasurers, considering the heavy workload involved in providing the same documentation several times in multiple formats to our banking partners".

The introduction of multinational treasuries to the 5,100 bank strong registry will enable corporates to upload standard information to The KYC Registry as well as to exchange other KYC-relevant documents that are requested by their banks. Banks will benefit by having access to corporates’ information through the same central repository they use for their correspondent KYC checks.

Stephan Ziegler, head of bank relations at Siemens Treasury, says: “As a global corporation, the efforts of Siemens to perform KYC-related tasks across the institution is a repetitive, lengthy and a cumbersome process. At Siemens Treasury we are constantly looking for ways to increase our efficiency. With Swift announcing KYC for Corporates, we are delighted to see a well-positioned player moving ahead to answer this need with the full strength of its banking and corporate community.”

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